King's College, Cambridge [L[ Radio 4 @ 4 p.m. 25.xii.23

[hmvman]

That’s good news they’ll be on R3’s repeat. I was poised to turn up the volume for Dieu Parmi Nous, when the R4 announcer cut in….

Yes, I too was disappointed not to hear that!

[Guest]

I don't think the 2nd voluntary he's ever been heard in the live broadcast.....

[Master Jacques]

Bad timing re Covid, hope you speedily recover.

Thank you Petrushka for your kind wishes. So far, so good. My worryingly high temperature of yesterday is down (fingers crossed) and I've been able to watch a Blu-ray set of Die Meistersinger today (for review purposes) without undue delirium. It is pretty good too [Deutsche Oper 2022, Naxos].

[mopsus]

I don't think the 2nd voluntary he's ever been heard in the live broadcast.....

I recall in some years hearing the opening, and then the rest being faded out.

[Guest]

I recall in some years hearing the opening, and then the rest being faded out.

Yes - I remember literally just an opening chord once.

[silvestrione]

Indeed I was surprised we did hear all of the Bach...it's not always been so.

[oddoneout]

For some reason the start time of the R3 repeat has been changed from 13-08 to 13-23. Must have happened some time during Petroc's slot as I had noted the timings for reference earlier. Bit tiresome to have to put the PC on to find out what was happening( I thought perhaps I'd misread the 24 hr format incorrectly and it was an hour later), but it did give me some welcome extra time to get my lunch prep finished.

[Cockney Sparrow]

In my 20's a friend suggested we go - he knew we needed to be queing from about 8am - and of course a grim, overcast Cold Cambridge day. Very much like a prom queue - once we'd established ourselves, we could by turn go and warm up in a coffee shop, or get some lunch. Thank goodness it never rained.
In all I went on four Christmas Eves - Philip Ledger's years and on one very memorable occasion were directed beyond the screen and seated in the chairs with a view of the Rubens.
(I still think Ledger's and Willcock's descants haven't been bettered).

Now, its by application in a ballot where half are allocated to Cambridge residents:

"The service was originally conceived as a "gift to the City of Cambridge", and in the spirit of that traditional gift of goodwill, we will ensure that at least half of the public tickets will go to the people of Cambridge.’"

(this is 2021 information). Maybe I'll apply for next year, and take my chance.

[Old Grumpy]

Both voluntaries in full on Sounds. The Radio 3 repeat is, in fact, confusingly billed as Radio 4!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001th7d?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

[Master Jacques]

Having listened to both, I must say that that King's College's somewhat somnolent and sluggish 2023 churn-through was eclipsed (for me) by the shorter - and brighter - Christmas Service from York Minster (Radio 4, December 25, 7am). Musically this was much more alive, with genuinely interesting carols from Lucy Walker, Cecilia McDowall and Robert Sharpe. Definitely worth catching up with.

[jonfan]

I listened to both radio and tv services and I enjoyed them immensely. The choir is sounding superb, excelling in expressive singing with a beautiful blend caught, on the radio, with a generous acoustic but with clarity. O radiant dawn an example of the expressive approach, instead of a declamatory reading often associated with this piece. Pleased the Dean added to the Bidding Prayer to emphasise actions that show absence of goodwill to fellow human beings.

[Vox Humana]

I listened to both radio and tv services and I enjoyed them immensely. The choir is sounding superb, excelling in expressive singing with a beautiful blend caught, on the radio, with a generous acoustic but with clarity.

Totally agree.

[mopsus]

Pleased the Dean added to the Bidding Prayer to emphasise actions that show absence of goodwill to fellow human beings.

The bidding prayer, once invariant, has been tweaked in various ways in recent years. The categories of readers also changed about 20 years ago, so you may get a member of the college staff but representatives of Eton are less frequent, and the Director of Music does a different reading now. I've listened to the service probably every year of my life so even small changes register.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(I still think Ledger's and Willcock's descants haven't been bettered).

I agree. Their descants enhance the melodies, rather than compete with them.

[WolfPaul]

On both the TV and radio broadcasts, "Once in Royal" was, I think, sung a semitone lower than the standard G major. Any suggestions why this was the case?